Danger in Boston with a Chance of Death
by mysterygirl565
Summary: It's been 3 years since the 39 clues hunt ended and Dan and Amy won. They now live a normal life in Boston, until Ian and Natalie visit them with a warning, an offer for protection, and a suggestion that their parents are alive. Please read and review.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: This is my second fanfic, and I really hope you like it! :)**

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****Prologue **

Katherine Baronet sat in her car in an empty parking lot. Her fingers drummed against the steering wheel as she sat, waiting.

The Professor had told her he would contact her at exactly 11:00 P.M., and that very time was drawing near. Every time she had to talk to the Professor she could feel herself getting apprehensive. This was no exception.

The faint cry of a siren echoed in the night air, along with the barking of a dog. Katherine flicked a blond strand of hair from her face, and then brushed nonexistent lint from her clothing. The time drew even nearer.

Perhaps that was what she hated most of this job - the waiting. When she had no time to think, to analyze, when she was in the midst of action, that was what she enjoyed most.

She jumped as her cell phone rang. Fumbling through her purse, she pulled it out and flipped it open.

"Hello," a raspy male voice said on the other end. "Is this Mary Clarence?"

"Yes," Katherine said. Mary Clarence was an agreed alias for her.

"You are aware," the voice said, "that you have been pulled out from your mission to be assigned to the one I am about to inform you of."

"Yes, sir," Katherine said, fingering a jade necklace she was wearing.

"You will have a partner for this particular mission," the voice said.

"And that will be?"

"Fanner Black."

Katherine was shocked. "Sir, are you sure that is wise? I do not entirely trust him."

"When I wish for you to question my judgment, I shall tell you so," the voice said threateningly.

"Understood, sir," Katherine said quickly, desperate to avoid any disagreement. "What is the prize?"

"The medallion."

"The target?"

"Dan and Amy Cahill."

"The extent to which I may harm them?"

"Kill them." The phone line went dead.


	2. Chapter 2: Unwelcome Visitors

**Chapter 1: Unwelcome Visitors**

Amy knew what it was like to have her heart broken. That didn't make it easier each time it happened.

She stared at the cell phone clutched in her hand and tried to hold back tears. She couldn't believe Tony had broken up with her, just like that. No reasons, no explanations, only a short text message saying they were over. They had been together for one year - didn't he have the guts to break up with her in person?

"Amy! Dinner's ready!" Nellie called from downstairs. Amy got up from her chair and started downstairs. On her way out she glimpsed herself in the mirror - her eyes were red and puffy, and her hair was a mess. At least she was safe from criticism in her own home.

"You look horrible," Dan said the moment Amy walked into the kitchen.

"Just what I wanted to hear," she replied bitterly. Nellie looked up from the plate she was ladling with food.

"You okay, kiddo?" she asked as she set the plate in front of Amy.

Amy only shrugged and, taking her fork, started picking at her food. Nellie looked at her concernedly as she set a plate in front of Dan and then sat down at the table with her own.

Dan, as always, was oblivious to any trouble. "So, I just saw this awesome new video game in the store, and since my birthday is coming up soon …"

Nellie shook her head. "Dan, you're turning fifteen. How much longer is this video game craze gonna go on?"

"As long as you won't buy me a car," Dan replied matter-of-factly.

"Dude, you're like, a year away from getting your driver's license," Nellie answered. "You really think I'm gonna trust you with a car until then?"

"But -"

Amy tried to immerse herself in the mindless banter between Nellie and Dan, but she couldn't. Her mind kept returning to Tony. What was it that made him break up with her? Was it something she had done? Something that could have been prevented?

"Amy, hello? You there?"

Dan's voice broke her out thoughts. Amy bit her lip, trying to keep herself from crying.

"Amy, if there's anything you want to talk about," Nellie offered. "I mean -"

Suddenly the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it," Amy immediately said, getting up from her chair and exiting the room, desperate to escape Nellie.

Smoothing her hair and wiping her eyes, she swung open the door. And found herself face to face with the Kabras.

"How long does it take to open the door?" Natalie Kabra demanded. She turned to face Ian Kabra, who was standing next to her. "Honestly, Ian, she's taken casualness to a whole new level. And not in a good way."

Amy felt her mouth drop open. What were they doing here? And acting so - so normal? And insulting her?

_Ian's here, _she thought, her heart quickening. _Ian's here and I look like an absolute mess from crying. _

"W-what are you d-doing here?" Amy managed to get out.

"We're quite sorry for the intrusion," Ian said, flashing a brilliant smile that made Amy want to sink into the ground. "I know we haven't seen each other for a while."

_A while? We haven't seen each other since the 39 clues hunt ended, _Amy thought. And yet Ian was exactly as she remembered him - good-looking and extremely confident. Not that she cared about him anymore. She'd moved on with her life.

"But the thing is," Ian continued, his smile disappearing, "there are some things you have to know."

"Which is what brought us to you here today," Natalie said, smiling sweetly, even though it was obvious that the smile was insincere. She was wearing a denim miniskirt, black boots, and a loose white T-shirt with a flower design, and though Amy hated to admit, she looked good, even in such a simple outfit.

"So-so," Amy was at a loss for words. What could they possibly want to tell her?

"May we come in?" Natalie asked, and then, without waiting for an answer, pushed past Amy. After a second, Ian did the same. Still shocked, Amy closed the door and turned to follow them.

As the three of them walked into the kitchen, Dan and Nellie immediately looked up at them.

"Miss me?" Natalie asked breezily as she walked in and sat down on a counter stool, looking completely at home. As Dan realized who it was, he started choking. While Nellie hit him on the back, he managed to get out, "Why are you here?"

"You haven't changed a bit, Daniel," Ian said, ignoring Dan's question as he came to stand beside his sister.

As Dan stopped coughing, he scowled. "My name's Dan. That's what my parents named me, and that's what you should call me." He turned to Amy. "Why did you let them in?"

"I - I didn't," Amy stuttered, looking absolutely terrified.

Dan rolled his eyes - typical Amy. He wasn't going to get anywhere with her. Instead he turned to confront the Kabras.

"So you think you can just barge in here without any warning?" Dan said as he stood up.

"Au contraire, my friend, we are here _with _a warning," Ian said.

Dan stared at them. "What kind of a warning?"

"The worst kind, cousin," Natalie said. "There are people trying to kill you."

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**AN: Soooo...did you you like it? I'm still contemplating how much Ian/Amy I'm going to put in there and if there's going to be any Dan/Natalie. If you have any suggestions or preferences, you can tell me in a review. **


	3. Chapter 3: An Offer and a Refusal

**AN: OK, so last time I asked you to write in your reviews which pairings you wanted in my story. There was a general asking for Ian/Amy, but there was a big split about Dan/Natalie. Some people hated it, while some people wanted it. So I figured out a way to please both sides... **

**I'm going to do a chapter sometime in the story about Dan/Nat, and all the people who want to read it can, and those who don't want to don't have to, since there won't be any plot developments involved. And I'll make sure you know it when it comes up. So... I hope that suits everybody. **

**Yeah. Back to the story.**

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Chapter 3: An Offer and a Refusal

Dan was the first one to react. He burst out laughing.

"Yeah, ninja assassins are gonna burst through our window any second," he said, grinning. "This is ridiculous, right?"

He looked at Nellie, who was suddenly dead serious, and then Amy, who looked uncertain. "Come on, you really believe this?"

Natalie scowled. "Of course they believe it. We're telling the truth." She glared at Dan. How dare he laugh? Like he was better than them - as if. He wasn't going to reach the Kabra level anytime soon dressed in those clothes.

Keep your cool, Natalie thought. Your biggest strength is if you keep your cool.

She removed the scowl from her face and smirked instead. "At least your sister and your babysitter understand the gravity of the situation."

"Au pair, not babysitter," Dan said as his grin disappeared.

"All we ask," Ian said, "is a short time for us to explain our point."

"And all we ask," Dan shoot back, "is for you to leave."

"D-Dan, I think we should give them a chance," Amy said. She felt worried. She didn't know why, but she was inclined to believe them, or at least inclined to listen to their story.

"Yeah, kiddo. For this, I agree with your sister. We should listen to their side of the story," Nellie put in. She wanted desperately to know what this was about, had to know if it was anything to do with - no, she wouldn't think about it.

Dan sat back down and slumped in his seat. "Fine. Go ahead. Listen to their lies." Meanwhile, no one listens to me, Dan thought.

"Thank you for your courtesy, Daniel," Natalie said sarcastically. "As we said before, we know that some people are planning to kill you, except-"

"Let me guess. Except you don't know who, why, or when," Dan interrupted.

Natalie bit her lip. She could feel anger well up inside of her, threatening to overflow. What could stop her from pulling out her dart gun then and there? She could shoot that idiot and then make a run for it.

You had direct orders from your mother - you're here to help, Natalie told herself. She took a deep breath.

"No, we know who and why," she said.

"That is, we know the group of people who are planning to kill you, rather than the specific people assigned to the mission, and the object they're seeking, though we don't know to what purpose they want it," Ian clarified.

"Well, that's all cleared up then," Dan said.

Amy ignored him. "What kind of a group is it?" she asked. Surprisingly, the Kabras' arrival and news had made her burden of being broken up with much easier. Being told that there are people trying to kill you really takes your mind off things.

"They formed some years before the hunt, but only lately have they been in action," Natalie said. "They're rather a collection of riffraff from the different branches - people involved in scandals and disgraced, people who were kicked out, people who turned against their own branch, that sort of thing."

"What do you mean, they were 'in action' only lately?" Dan asked despite himself.

"Well, before, there you used to be small attacks and rebellions," Ian answered, " but only two years ago there was a big breach of security. The group split up to invade each branch's main headquarters. It was unexpected, and because they were all former members of the branch they were assigned to, they got past our codes with ease - it was frightening. We only won against them because of our sheer numbers.

"After that day, there was major chaos as each branch moved its headquarters, changed its codes and traps, and basically tried to make themselves impenetrable again. For example, the main Lucian stronghold isn't in Paris anymore."

"What is the group called?" Amy said, forgetting to stutter with all the new information she was absorbing.

"They're called the Tarquinians."

Suddenly there was a shattering of glass. Everyone looked at Nellie, who had knocked over a cup on the table.

"I - I'll pick that up," she said. Her face looked pale and frightened as she swept the pieces up off the floor.

Her thoughts were going in freefall. Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god. How can this be? Is this what he was talking about it? Is this what he meant?

"So what have they been doing since then?" Amy asked, oblivious to Nellie's worries.

"They've been stealing," Natalie said. "For each branch there's a main heirloom or object. For the Janus it's a hand-crafted lyre that they've kept in a safe in their headquarters. For the Ekaterina it's a rare book. For the Tomas it's a golden pair of hand weights. The Tarquinians have managed to steal all of these, except for the object of the Lucians."

"Which is?" Dan prodded, fully immersed in the story he had been so skeptical of.

"It's what they're after. It's what they have recently found out that you have. It's why they plan to track you down and kill you just to get it. The coin."

Amy remembered quite clearly the end of the 39 clues hunt. She remembered the final, fast-paced show-down in the London Museum. She remembered the fist-to-fist fight that had emerged as all the relatives realized the last clue was only 20 yards away in an exhibit. And she remembered how she had managed to crawl out of the melee unscathed, along with another person - Ian.

Their eyes met, and they both realized at the same time that it was now between only them.

Amy broke into a run, all thoughts other than getting there first gone from her head. She heard Ian's footsteps, getting closer and closer to her, until suddenly a crash resounded. She had glanced back and seen Ian lying on the ground. Before he could get up, she had rushed to the exhibit and grasped the box with the last clue. She remembered how the joy had coursed through her - the 39 clues hunt was over, and she and Dan had won!

It was later, when they had been declared winners, and all the relatives were exchanging goodbyes (stiff, unhappy, fake goodbyes), that Ian had approached her and given her the Lucian coin. The same one that had been needed to open the cave in Korea. The same one he had tricked her with.

"I want you to remember me by this," he had said, placing it into her hand. She had stared at it, trying to decide what she felt about it. And then the next day, while they were packing up their stuff to go back to Boston, she had looked at it again - and decided that she hated it. She had thrown it into the trash, and left it there. Left it there forever.

"The coin?" Dan said.

Nellie looked up abruptly as he said that. Suddenly she stared off into space, almost as if frozen.

Dan gave a meaningful glance - actually, several meaningful glances - to Amy. He knew that she had thrown it away because she had told him about it later.

"They - they want it?" Amy asked.

Natalie nodded.

"So here's the offer," Ian said. "We get the Lucian coin, so we can put it somewhere more, uh, safe than its current location. And in return you'll get our protection until the threat is over. Which will hopefully be soon. The four branches are planning an attack on the Tarquinians right now. Whatever the group is planning with the objects, we think that after retrieving the Lucian object, they'll be able to put their plans in action, and we can't let that happen. So, the coin for protection. What do you say?

Dan smirked. If only you knew the truth of it - my sister hates you and she threw it away.

Amy bit her lip nervously. What am I supposed to tell him - that I threw it away? I don't want to seem rude. I mean, it's not like I hate him anymore - too much time has passed. I'm sort of… indifferent.

Nellie could only think about one part of what Ian had said - that the branches were going to attack the Tarquinians. This can't happen. What if they - what if he - no, I won't think about it.

"Well?" Natalie broke into all of their thoughts.

"The truth is that Amy -," Dan began but was interrupted as Amy started talking over him hurriedly.

"It doesn't matter because we're not taking the offer, right?" Amy said.

"I agree." Dan exclaimed, immediately changing direction. "There's no proof, no nothing. I say we skip it. We don't even know if we're in any danger!"

"I agree," Nellie put in quickly. "There's no saying that they're telling the truth."

"Wait, before you say no, there's one more thing," Ian said. "I - I don't know how to say this…"

"Then I'll say it for you," Natalie said, sighing. "Your parents might not be dead."

Everyone stared at her in shock. It even left Dan speechless.

Nellie was the first to speak. "Dude, you can come into our house saying we're gonna be killed, you can demand some stupid coin back, but you can't joke about their parents. That's. Just. Not. Cool."

Amy felt overwhelming gratitude for Nellie. She had said everything Amy had wanted to say, except without stuttering.

"I'm not joking," Natalie said.

"Our parents our dead, okay! Now just go away," Dan said. Amy had never seen him so worked-up.

"Listen," said Natalie. "There is a possibility - you hear me, a possibility - that they're alive. I'm not saying they are, I'm just saying there's a chance."

Amy felt like breaking into tears. "H-how could they possibly be alive, Natalie? How?"

Ian, who had been looking extremely uncomfortable, started talking. "We think the Tarquinians helped them escape from the fire."

"Y-you don't mean they were…one of them?" Amy asked

"No, we think they got your parents out of the fire to question them about something - something they needed to know."

"So - so," Dan broke in, "this is just some hunch? Some wild guess?"

Ian shook his head. "They've been hinting at something in this nature for a while. And we found this letter. Dated after the fire. 7/10/01. July 10, 2001."

Ian pulled a letter out of his pocket and threw it onto the table. The minute Amy saw it, she knew it was her mother's writing, and it was, indeed, dated after the fire. The fire had happened in March. Dan leaned toward it, but on impulse, Amy grabbed it before Dan could see.

"It- it could be anyone's writing," she lied. She didn't want the Kabras to know she had recognized it as her mother's, for some reason. And she liked the idea that it was all hers to look at, for a time being.

Ian looked confused. "I insist, this was written by your mother. After the fire. And -"

"You heard my sister. It's not our parents', and we don't except your offer," Dan said.

Amy immediately felt guilty that she had lied about the letter, but somehow she couldn't bring herself to say the truth.

"So the answer's no?" Ian confirmed, looking at Amy.

"The answer's no," Amy said firmly.

Ian nodded while Natalie only rolled her eyes. "Very well."

Suddenly he steeped in towards Amy and hugged her.

The gesture surprised her - they hadn't seen each other for so long, after all - and she didn't know how to react. Gingerly she hugged him back. She heard Dan clear his throat, as she figured did Ian, for he suddenly drew away, his hand brushing slightly against her jacket.

He looked at her solemnly and nodded.

"Goodbye," he said.

"G-goodbye," Amy said, still thrown off by the hug.

Natalie sighed. "Ciao, cousins. Refusing us was definitely not the best choice you've made."

"Well, either way, we won't miss you," Dan said scathingly. "I'll show you out."

Natalie's nostrils flared and Ian raised an eyebrow. "We can show ourselves out," Natalie said. They left the kitchen, and, after opening the front door, filed out of the house. Amy followed them, and just as she was about to close the door after Ian and Natalie, Ian turned around to face her.

"If you ever need us, we'll be there," he said, and then turned around to catch up with his sister.

Huh, Amy thought,

I wonder what he meant by that.

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**AN: Did you like it? Ok, here's the thing - I'm leaving for England tomorrow and I'll be gone for two weeks, so I probably won't be able to update this story until I get back (and ditto for Love, Hate, and Fate ) so I just wanted to tell you that. So, that's pretty much it. Please read and review!**


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